I'm surprised each time anew by the knowledge that I'm once again undergoing a spiritual 'recalibration'.
I am released from the bondage of complexity...by practicing simplicity...I have no idea how far I have once again strayed off the path. Instead of humbly following Jesus, I've let myself get sidetracked by a myriad of temptations; overly ambitious creative projects, delusions about my own importance, worrisome relationships, secret small addictions, stubborn resentments, and a hundred forms of self-indulgence. Simplicity clears my vision enough to see how far I've wandered. This is a humbling experience.
For centuries, humility was seen as a key component of a healthy spiritual life. In more recent times, humility has lost a good deal of status. Instead, we prefer to focus on the development of self-esteem, on achievement, and on self-fulfillment; our temptation is to dismiss humility as a relic of the unsophisticated past, a time when people supposedly knew next to nothing about psychology or good mental health. We also tend to link the promotion of humility with authoritarian efforts to keep people passively disinclined to rock the boat.
Growth in humility, however, doesn't come naturally. As human beings, we are woefully tempted toward self-elevation (vainglory), and stony withdrawal from God and our fellow creatures (pride), along with a myriad of other sins no less destructive (gluttony, lust, greed, envy, self-pitying depression over what we want and can't have, simmering resentment, anger). Not dealt with, such sins fill us with hopelessness and confusion, and drastically complicate our relationships. They keep us focused on our selves, block our ability to love, and isolate us from God.
As a wise friend of mine says, "Sin is complicated." The obverse of this little rule is that humility, the ground of goodness, is simply and open.
The beauty of the Lenten season is that is encourages the development of a humble heart. In Lent, we are invited to look deeply inside, identify what is impeding our ability to follow Christ along the path of humility, and begin applying antidotes. Early church tradition is rich in the wisdom of soul simplification and offers a multitude of spiritual disciplines to counteract the temptations that muddle our lives. The season of Lent gives us the opportunity to devote significant time to this endeavor.
-- Paula Huston, simplifying THE SOUL
...to spiritually recalibrate.
I wonder how humility, especially the lack of it, affects our sense of reality and our ability to keep ourselves free from the bondages of this life (so aptly described above). At times, we are shoved into humility. At times we are shoved out of it. Is it my lack of humility that causes my soil to grow the weeds that so entangle me? When I am reversed from this growth, am I not becoming un-proud again...that is, humble.
Perhaps this is part of the value of choosing things, like Lent, that reveal our need for humility. And, perhaps it is only through humility that we can truly accept resurrection.
